RIP
Brooklyn Rapper Nick Blixky Shot & Killed
Source: Nick Blixky / Instagram An up and coming Brooklyn rapper named Nick Blixky was shot and killed in his home borough last night (May 10). He was just 21 years old. Born Nickalus Thompson, he was found with gunshot wounds in front of 200 Winthrop Street in the Prospect Lefferts Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn around 9:30 p.m, per NBC New York. Nick Blixky was reportedly shot in his chest and buttocks, according to the NYPD. Unfortunately, after being taken to NYC Health & Hospitals/Kings County he was pronounced dead. CNN reports that police found Blixky after responding to a 911 call. The Brooklyn native was due to drop a mixtape titled Different Timin in June. Blixby’s “Drive The Boat” single and video, which dropped in late 2019, has amassed over 2 million views on YouTub...
9 Little Richard TV Appearances That Changed Everything
Without Little Richard, there would be no James Brown. No Elvis. No Beatles. [ed. note: deep breath] No Stevie Wonder. No New York Dolls. No Jayne County. No Replacements. No Ol’ Dirty Bastard. No Laura Jane Grace. No Billy Porter. No Low Cut Connie. No Kanye. Definitely no Prince. In fact, nothing funky at all. As Yasiin Bey, the man formerly known as Mos Def, put it, Little Richard is rock’n’roll. And all of these wildly disparate acts have a spark or three from an icon who always had electricity coursing through him. When the man born Richard Wayne Penniman was onstage, he was like a catapult launching great balls of fire that kept on generating and inspiring new musicians every decade. There’s a reason he was dubbed the Architect of Rock ‘n’ Roll; he laid an impossibly strong foundatio...
Betty Wright, Soul Hitmaker and ‘Clean Up Woman’ Singer, Dies at 66
R&B singer Betty Wright, best-known for a string of soulful hits in 1970s and early 1980s, including “Clean Up Woman” and “Where Is the Love?”, has died at age 66. Wright’s niece confirmed the news but didn’t reveal a cause of death, TMZ reports. Wright, born in Miami in 1953, launched her career as a child member of her family’s gospel act, the Echoes of Joy. But she ventured into soul and funk with her first solo album, 1968’s My First Time Around. Wright first found commercial success with 1972’s “Clean Up Woman,” famously sampled three decades later for a remix of Mary J. Blige’s “Real Love.” The vocalist issued a string of solo records and singles in the decade, including minor hits like 1972’s “Is It You, Girl?”, 1974’s “Secretary” and 1975’s “Where is the Love?”, which earned th...
Little Richard, Legendary Rock’n’Roll Pioneer, Dies at 87
Little Richard, one of the first and greatest rock’n’roll icons and innovators, has died at age 87, as reported by Rolling Stone. The cause of death has not yet been reported. Born Richard Wayne Penniman, he revolutionized popular music in the 1950s with such culturally irreplaceable hits as “Tutti Frutti,” “Good Golly Miss Molly,” and “Long Tall Sally.” He was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, the very first year it began, and performed at Bill Clinton’s presidential inauguration in 1992. The Library of Congress added “Tutti Frutti” to the National Recording Registry in 2010 for its cultural significance, particularly its unforgettable a cappella intro: “A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-wop-bam-boom!“ Born in Macon, Georgia, the second of 12 children, Penniman was kicked out o...
R.I.P. Dave Greenfield, Stranglers Keyboardist and Vocalist Dies at 71
Dave Greenfield, the longtime keyboardist and vocalist for UK punk rock / new wave band The Stranglers has passed away at the age of 71. The veteran musician had been hospitalized for heart problems, but then contracted COVID-19 last week and succumbed to the virus on Monday, May 3rd. Greenfield joined The Stranglers in 1975, a year after the band’s formation. He remained in the group up until his death, playing keyboards and providing backing and occasional lead vocals. He appeared on all 17 of seminal punk band’s albums, and wrote the music for one of their best known hits, “Golden Brown”. That tune won the prestigious Ivor Novello Award for songwriting. The news of Greenfield’s passing was announced on the band’s official website: “We are deeply and profoundly saddened to announce the u...
